Full (Fruit) Circle


This week's story begins and ends with fruit. Hawai'i's fruit abundance seems to easily find us; it not only fills our bellies but it also connects us with our community. We got this crate of papayas and bananas for ten bucks at our local market and have become notoriously known amongst the vendors as the couple that buys in bulk. This bounty enables us to eat well and share the goodness with our friends. 


Friends have been also been in abundance for us lately. This past week, we hosted our first guests since moving to the Big Island! Tarah and Matias visited from California and Michelle flew in from Maui. We explained the strange intricacies of living on and tending a raw piece of land and they seemed satisfied. 



Tarah and Matias were excited to visit the volcanic caldera that hangs out in our backyard. 

So we hopped in their mustang convertible rental and booked it a mile or two up the road to Volcanos National Park. 


We embarked on a hike that runs through the Kilauea Iki crater. 

This desolate landscape, with its crunchy volcanic gravel and steam vents, gives the sensation of walking on the face of the moon. 


After soaking up all the friendship and glorious lava flow lusciousness, it was time for us to head to Kona to do some tree work and craft projects.   


First, Byron did some artful pruning at our friends property. This tree is called a money tree and is said to bring prosperity when it grows taller than your house. 

As you can see, he's sitting on the roof as he prunes... and our friends are particularly prosperous. 



He also started doing some contract climbing for a local tree service company. 

At this job, he removed two 140 foot manele (soapberry) trees! 


To sharply contrast this activity, I got going on a little craft project back at the Fults' house.  

Using some scrap (very throw-back) fabric from the thrift store in Volcano village, I began making re-usable food wrap! I got beeswax and jojoba oil to mix with some pine resin that Byron harvested from a tree he had worked on. 

The mixture melts onto the fabric in the oven and voila! 






At the end of the day, I picked up Byron from work and he was deliriously happy, as well as completely thrashed. 

I set him up with an acupuncture treatment up in the loft at the Fults' treehouse. 










Afterward, I did some gua sha massage to open up his shoulders and back.  

And all was good again.






On our last day in Kona, we did an epic mango haul from the tree in the back of the Fults' property. Ali, Peter, Cory, Byron and I all stood around the kitchen sink as we devoured the ripest of the bunch. 








All hail the rainbow mango mound!

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